What to gift on a first anniversary

Paper anniversary ideas (the traditional first-year gift)

1. A book of your first year — every month, one photo and one line. See Another Year of Us.
2. A love letter about the moment you knew. Use Love Letter if words don’t come easily.
3. Framed tickets from your first movie, concert or flight together.
4. A custom map of where you met, first kissed and live now.
5. A “365 reasons” jar with one paper note for every day.
6. A printed scrapbook of chats, screenshots and photos.
7. A book with notes in the margins — your favourite novel, annotated for them.

Anniversary Book: Another Year of Us A page-turning book of your year — a modern take on the paper anniversary. ₹499 ₹149Preview free →

For her

8. Recreate your first date, down to what you ordered.
9. Jewellery with your date or initials engraved.
10. A weekend trip to a place she’s saved on Instagram.
11. A love story page with an invitation, reasons and a letter — Eternal Anniversary.
12. A photo album of moments she didn’t know you captured.
13. A candlelight dinner at home, cooked by you.

For him

14. An engraved watch or wallet with the date.
15. Tickets to a match or a concert he’d never buy himself.
16. A counter of your time together — years, days, hours — the Anniversary Dial.
17. A tech accessory he’s been eyeing, paired with a letter.
18. A “year in review” video made of your clips.
19. A day where he plans nothing — you handle everything.

Anniversary Dial Counts the years, days and moments — with your photos and the maths. ₹499 ₹149Preview free →

For couples (do it together)

20. Write letters to each other and open them next anniversary.
21. Plant something and watch it grow with you.
22. A couples’ class — cooking, dance, pottery.
23. A photoshoot to mark year one.
24. Plan year two: a bucket list of 12 things, one a month.
25. Revisit where you met.

If you’re married: 1st anniversary for husband or wife

The first wedding anniversary often comes with family expectations. A good rule: keep one thing just for the two of you, even if there’s a family dinner.

• Look back at the wedding: frame the photo you both love, not the posed one.
• Write what changed in a year of marriage — the small daily things.
• Make a private keepsake with wedding photos that you send at midnight, before the family calls start.
• Post a short anniversary video of your photos for ₹49 — Saalgirah Mubarak for a desi wedding feel, or Forever & Always and Our Timeline. All anniversary videos.
• Turn the wedding album into a 3D Museum: one floor for the shaadi, one for the honeymoon, and your letter by the window at the end. The link never expires. More in the 3D photo museum guide.

Eternal Anniversary: Our Love Story An invitation, your reasons, a letter and six colour themes to choose from. ₹499 ₹149Preview free →

What to write in a first anniversary message

Try this structure: a memory from the start → something you learned about them → what you’re looking forward to.

A year ago I was nervous texting you “good morning”. Now you’re the first person I want to tell everything to. Thank you for the patience, the bad jokes and the late-night chai. Here’s to year two — more trips, same us.

Need more help with the words? Read how to write a love letter.